POPULATION TREND: Based on the most recent publicly available data, the total population of U.S. eastern brown pelican has held steady over the past decade at around 40,000 nesting pairs. The Gulf supports approximately 60 percent of the total U.S. population, and the number of nesting pelicans has declined in Louisiana, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina. The effects of the 2010 BP oil spill on the pelican population are dire and will persist for decades.